Thursday Activities

We hope that you will take advantage of the free time in the program on Thursday April 4 before the 4:00 sessions to enjoy one or more activities in the local area. We have compiled the following information to assist you.

Skiing and Snowboarding

We hope that the skiers and snowboarders at the conference will take the opportunity to go ride Thursday morning, but you will need to plan accordingly. To start, if you are not bringing your gear, we suggest that you rent your gear in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. This will save you a lot of time and discount tickets for most ski resorts can also be purchased at the rental shops. Some of the best stores for renting gear are located near the Marriott:

There are seven resorts within an hour's drive of the Marriott if you have a rental car and two hours by public transportation. It is recommended that you get an early start and please plan on being back at the Marriot by 4:00 pm for the afternoon sessions. In April, we recommend that you visit the resorts in the Cottonwood Canyons (Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird, Alta) as they receive nearly 50% more snowfall annually than the Park City resorts. The closest resorts (Solitude, Snowbird) are less than 45 minutes on clear roads. If you plan to take a rental car to the ski resorts, it is a good idea to rent an all-wheel-drive/4wd vehicle, as you will not be allowed to drive in the Cottonwood Canyons without all-wheel-drive/4wd vehicle or snow tires if the roads are snow-packed. There are also buses that go to the resorts available through UTA-SkiService and the Park City-Salt Lake Connector. Be aware that traveling to the resorts via bus will take about twice as long, and the Park City bus is not available on weekends.

Golf

Most golf courses in the Salt Lake Valley are open and we recommend these four convenient and scenic options that are <10 minute drive from downtown:

Bonneville Golf Course on Foothill DriveOld Mill Golf Course on 6200 South at I-215Stonebridge Golf Course on 3100 South and 2100 WestMurray Parkway Golf Course on 7200 South and 1300 West

Both Salt Lake City and County have dedicated pages with 14+ courses listed between them and there are a number of other websites dedicated to golfing in the area.

Visit Park City

Park City, Utah is about 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. The town sits at an elevation of about 7,000 feet and is located on the eastern slope of the Wasatch Mountains. It boasts a huge selection of restaurants (some of the best in the state), art galleries and shops.

Park City was founded as a silver-mining town in 1869. By 1900, it was a booming mining town with 10,000 residents and 100 saloons. During its mining height, the mountains surrounding Park City yielded $400 million in silver. However, with falling mineral prices in the 1930s, the boom years ended and residents began "mining" the treasure on the mountains, discovering what would later be termed The Greatest Snow on Earth.

Today, Park City is a unique blend of the old and new. Sixty-four of Park City's buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, many of which are located along the town's Main Street, and more than 1,200 miles of tunnels wind through the surrounding mountains, remnants of the mining era. Park City is now home to the major ski resorts of Park City, Deer Valley and The Canyons, as well as the Utah Olympic Park. For more information on visiting Park City, please see the following pages:

Fishing

Utah boasts some of the best fishing in the world, and many of the prime areas are within a short drive of downtown Salt Lake City. The Middle Provo and Lower Provo Rivers offer world class flyfishing, and both are less than an hour from downtown. If you have two or more days, the Green River below Flaming Gorge Reservoir is one of the top fisheries in the state. For advice, outfitting, and guided trips, we recommend that you contact one of these excellent shops:

Be sure to make reservations a few days ahead for guided fishing trips.

Shopping

Salt Lake City offers a many shopping opportunities. City Creek Center is an open-air mall with upscale shopping and a wide variety of dining options, located less than 2 blocks from the Marriott. The Gateway is an outdoor mall located less than a mile from the Marriott. The Gateway offers a variety of options in addition to shopping, including Megaplex Theatres, Clark Planetarium and Utah's children's museum. Trolley Square houses shopping and dining in converted trolley carbarns and adjacent buildings for a unique shopping environment approximately 2 miles from the Marriott. The Tanger Outlets in Park City offer outlet shopping opportunity approximately 30 minutes from the Marriott. For shopping at an indoor mall, Fashion Place is approximately 20 minutes from the Marriott. Additional information on shopping in Salt Lake City can be found here.

Hiking and Snowshoeing

Close proximity to the mountains makes Salt Lake City an excellent place for hiking and snowshoeing. If the weather has been warm, the snow in the foothills near the city may be melted, making hiking possible. If there is snow on the ground, most hiking trails are suitable for snowshoeing. Guidance specifically for snowshoeing in Utah is available here. You can rent snowshoes at REI:

Museums

Salt Lake City has several highly rated museums easily accessible from the Marriot. Located ½ mile from the conference center, The Leonardo is Salt Lake City's Science and Technology Arts museum. The Gateway Mall (~0.8 miles northwest from the conference center) is home to both Clark's Planetarium and Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. The Natural History Museum of Utah is located at the top of the University of Utah campus, and accessible via the Trax light rail line or by a short car ride.